Fingerprint Cards has officially announced its new optical fingerprint sensor for in-display applications, dubbed the FPC1610.

It’s the result of a long-term development effort. Fingerprints first announced it had developed viable in-display fingerprint sensor technology in the autumn of 2017, but as rivals like Synaptics and Goodix saw their own in-display sensors debut in smartphones launched last year, Fingerprints’ solution remained under wraps.

Now, the company says that its FPC1610 is available as a prototype, and currently being evaluated by smartphone manufacturers. It says the first smartphones to feature its solution are expected to launch this year.

It’s a timely development, with Samsung having now made in-display fingerprint scanning one of the salient new features of its flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone, offering the clearest signal yet that this technology is an important new trend in the mobile sector.

For its part, Fingerprint Cards asserted in a statement that its FPC1610 deliver high image quality and a slim form factor “enabling the sensor to be placed between the battery and the display” of a given device.

“We are very proud of the launch of our new FPC1610, as its strong differentiators will give us a unique position in the growing in-display fingerprint sensor market”, added Fingerprints’ mobile head, Ted Hansson.

It’s sure to be a hot topic for the companies at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where Fingerprints’ is showcasing its solutions from booth 1A80.